IELTS Speaking for Success - 📵 Describe an occasion when you were not allowed to use your mobile phone (Part 2) + Transcript

Episode Date: May 7, 2026

Get access to our premium episode archive: https://www.patreon.com/ieltssfs What happens when Rory has to give up his phone for his IELTS test? He shares a story packed with Band 9 vocabulary and grammar for a common Part 2 topic that you can make your own. Listen and learn! Tune in and have a great day! - Book a class with Rory here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://successwithielts.com/rory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our course on Phrasal Verbs: https://successwithielts.com/podcourses Transcript: https://successwithielts.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find an IELTS Speaking Partner: https://links.successwithielts.com/ieltspartner Our social media: https://linktr.ee/successwithielts © 2025 Podcourses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Hello, lovely and welcome into IEL speaking part two. Describe an occasion when you were not allowed to use your mobile phone. You should say when it was, where it was, why you were not allowed to use your super mobile phone, and how you felt about it. Rory, give us your story. Rory's story. Well, this doesn't happen very often since my phone is basically surgically attached to my hand at this point, but one time that does stand out is actually when I had my IELTS exam.

It was for listening and reading and writing, not speaking. With regards to when it was, well, this must have been about nine months ago, roughly, I'd gone through to Edinburgh at the start of the summer for the big day, not only because I like the city, but also because it was the closest I Hilt Center as well. So I had to travel quite far. When it comes to where it was, I know I already said Edinburgh, but to be more exact, this was almost squarely in the center of the city where these old Edwardian townhouses are located. It's actually quite a nice part of the place, regardless of wire there.

I had to go into one of these converted apartments and hand over all my personal items before taking the test, and that included my mobile phone. To explain why I wasn't allowed to use it, well, I think that should be clear. This is a high-stakes assessment, and having a phone would either allow you to cheat or perhaps worse be a distraction to others, and nobody really wants that, do they? So it makes sense that that would be a policy that they have in these test centres. And as for how I felt about the whole thing, I wasn't actually that put out about it. I don't really take issue with rules like that, and I think I'd prepared well enough for the test that I didn't feel a really strong need to cheat or anything.

Not that I would do that anyway, but it's good to not be able to do that. Even if I'd had my phone, I think I'd have put it on silent mode anyway just to avoid disturbing others, because that's the polite thing to do. Hopefully I won't have to do it again, though. I think one time was enough, and even though I survived the tests, I prefer to have my phone on me at all times. RBC Training Ground has discovered potential in over 20,000 Canadian athletes and counting.

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See you soon. Right, dear listener. So, a time when you were not allowed to use your mobile phone, your smartphone, they said, no, no, no, no, you can't use your phone. Wow, it's a nightmare. But it's something that everybody who's taking the exam will have to do. So, if you're really lucky, this could be your story. Some people take the speaking first these days.

But apparently, you could take it after your writing and listening and reading. So this could be good. Yeah, do you can just steal Rory's story and imagine that you've taken aisles. Okay? And now you're just speaking. it's for the second time and you just say, oh right, okay, so I took aisles already, you know, like last week.

I already took these parts of the test and now here I am, although their answer might change a little bit. For example, if it's on the same day, you wouldn't say it must have been about nine months ago. You would say it was roughly about an hour ago, for example. No, last week I can now ago. Well, no, if they take the speaking and different parts of the test on the same day and the speaking is later in the day, then it makes sense.

Yeah, so it's your test day, and you took like listening, reading, writing, and then you have the speaking, and then you say, okay, right. So I've just done an IOT's test. Yeah, or maybe it's your second test, you can just imagine. So the beginning of the story is very nice, because Rory told us that his smartphone is part of his hand. Like, he's attached to his smartphone. And this means that, like, I take my smartphone everywhere.

I can't live without it. So you just say, like, my phone is basically surgically attached to my hand. Surgically? Like, surgery. Like, if something is not quite all right, you go to surgery in hospital, right? Right, dear listener? Kind of like surgical procedures. like operation.

So it's kind of surgically attached, but it's a joke. It's kind of, my phone is not attached to my hand. It's separate. But here we are adding drama to the story. My phone is surgically attached to my hand. But one time that does stand out, like one time that I do remember, like something stands out, it's memory. is when I had my IOT exam or is when I had my school exams.

Maybe, oh, oh, a theater. Theater, there we go. Oh. Yeah, I went to the theater and they told me I am not allowed to use my mobile phone. So at the theater, at the museum, for example, in some museums, you are not allowed to use your mobile phone. You are not allowed to take pictures. Really? Yeah, especially with diamonds.

when you have like gold diamonds, maybe some documents. So yeah, yeah, some museums. Well, okay. Right, you listen. Just talk about an exam, okay? At school, at university, IELTS, your IELS exam, exactly. Unless you do, you're speaking first, in which case I have no idea what to tell you, because I wouldn't have had any other ideas apart from that.

You lie and you say I took IOTS last week. and this is my second speaking. I'm terrible at lying, so that wouldn't work for me. But if you're a good liar, then good luck to you. So you just say like, okay, one time that does stand out is when I took my IEL's exam last week. And here I am again, de-examiner, taking the exam the second time. What a bunch of lies. Okay, so when you change the topic, you say, with regards,

to when it was. As for when it was, it was last week. It was two months ago. It was five days ago. It was yesterday. Rory took his aisles about nine months ago. Really, nine months ago?

Wow. I think so. Like, I'm pretty sure I took it at the end of May last year. So that's about nine months ago, I think. Maybe ten months. I'm not a mathematician. I went to Edinburgh,

one of my favorite cities in the world, Edinburgh. So, Rory went to Edinburgh, or maybe you went to London, you went to Rome, again, you can just make it up to listen to Paris. What a lovely place to take IELTS. Just go to Lisbon,

Paris, and take an exam. Yay. A romantic test. It was the closest IELTS center. It was the closest place to go to, or I just like the city. You need to comment on the Grammar too, there's good grammar.

Oh, inversion, band nine. Kind of inversion. It is not kind of inversion, it is inversion, not only, but also. Yeah, kind of, but you didn't say, like, not only do I like the city, but I also. So kind of like part of inversion is here. What? No, it's complete inversion. What are you talking about?

For the inversion to be complete, you need not only. only did I like the city, but it was also the closest. Not only did I like the city, but it was also the closest, but you didn't. Aw. I do. I have not only because I like the city, but also because it was the closest I out center. I still think it counts.

Yeah, it does count, because not only because I like the city, but also, you see, a very nice linking, like, not only... Just a nice linking structure. That's all. Yeah, yeah, it's just a nice linking structure. I went to Edinburgh to take the test not only because I like the city, but also because it was the closest I alt center. To make it simple, you just say, I went to Edinburgh because I liked the city and because it was the closest center, but it's too simple. So you say, I went to Edinburgh,

not only because I like the city, but also because it was the closest I old center. So kind of I like pizza, not only because I like cheese, but also because it's delicious. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yeah, very sophisticated reasons to like pizza. Then we change the topic with a new phrase when it comes to where it was. It was in Edinburgh, it was in London, in Paris, in Rome, in Moscow, in Lisbon, in Japan. My personal items, were taken before the test. So they took my personal items, personal items like your bag, your smartphone, your watch, everything, your passport.

No, no, actually you have your passport with you. Everything else must go. Yes, everything, like your chewing gum, your chocolate, your burger. And it goes into a plastic box. Visit BetMDMDM casino and check out the newest exclusive. The price is right, fortune. Pick. BetMGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. 19 plus to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2,600 to speak to an advisor. Free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. So they took all my personal items, including my smartphone.

Oh, disaster. I wasn't allowed to use it. I wasn't allowed to use my phone because it was a test. So it's a high-stakes assessment. Assessment is like test. High-stakes. Kind of, what is it? High-stakes.

High-stakes? Oh, it just means that there's a lot invested in the result. So it's a very important test. High-stakes test. IELTS is a high-stakes test. Involving serious risks, for example, like a high-stakes negotiation, or involving a lot of money. For example, if you play cards, so a high-stakes poker game.

So IELTS is a high-stakes test. Very important. Having a phone could either allow you to cheat or could be a distraction. Again, Rory connects his idea. this in a very bad nine way. He doesn't say having a phone helps you to cheat and could be a destruction, right? But he says, having a phone could either allow you to cheat. Cheat is like when you Google something, you're okay, this word or like translate this

word. So cheating. So having a phone could either allow you to cheat or could be a distraction to others. So could distract other people. Because if you have your, I don't know, sound on and your mother calls you during the test, so some funny music, like this all of a sudden. Can you imagine like everybody is like writing a report's graph? Like, ah, like.

And then you get called by your parents. So distraction. Something that prevents someone from giving their attention to something else. It's a C1 word. Is it? It is a distraction. I know. C1 band 8.5.

Very nice. So this was a policy at the test center. It was their policy. Policy like not politics, but a policy, a rule, a regulation, dear listener. So no phones are allowed in the test room. It's the policy of the test center. And you don't have a problem with the rules You don't take issue with them

Which means you don't have a problem with them I don't take issue with rules like this Which makes sense I might take issue with other things But don't make sense Yeah for example Like they take your pens away So you are not allowed to use your own pen or pencil

Oh Yeah they give you everything And then like Perhaps you are allowed to bring a bottle of water But just without any words on the bottle okay they check your bottle do you have any words

do you have what do you call this thingy that is you know wrapped around the bottle crib notes is that what they're called like when the thing on the the thing on the bottle is the label label yeah yeah no label but the things that you would use to cheat

would be like would be crib notes that's like summarized notes you write something on the bottle of water you know a deal is to cheat. Yeah, like no label. Like if you bring water with you, so make sure that there's no label on it. That's kind of clever.

If I caught someone doing that, I would be like just have the bottle if it's so important to you. Although, I don't really understand how you're going to use that to cheat in an exam. I don't know. Maybe like remembering the letters of the alphabet.

Oh, it's a K. It's a, you know. But you know, we change the topic again and then we say, as for how I felt about the whole thing, I was okay with this. Okay? So the first time we changed the topic with regards to when it was, blah, blah, blah, blah. When it comes to where it was, as for how I felt about the whole thing, I wasn't actually that put out about it. A super phrase of verb, band nine. worry.

Oh, if you're put out about something, then you have a problem with it. Put out. Yeah, you don't feel very happy about it. Yeah, like to be put out about something. You don't have it. If you're put out by something, then it's something that bothers you. For example, I was not invited to the party, so I was quite put out about it. Yeah, put something out.

Actually, like we put out a fire. You have a fire and then you put, you put it. it out. Yeah, and put someone out means to annoy or upset someone. For example, he ate my cake and I was really put out about it. So I was upset, I was annoyed. Yeah, and she was very put out when they were late for her birthday party. I was put out when I got my IOT's scores. I was upset. They gave me a nine and I wanted 8.5. I was upset Yeah

I complained about the situation So you can say I was okay with this Or you can say I was annoyed I was really upset I was irritated What

I couldn't use my smartphone During the test How dare they What's what Yeah No no Don't say that Because you're gonna be talking

To an examiner A de listener Alright So you can say Like I don't really Take issue with rules like that. Yeah, I'm okay with policies like this. So it's a good policy. I was prepared for the test. I didn't need to cheat. I didn't need my phone. Okay, I had my brain. Yeah, I just, I don't need my

smartphone, you know. I'm precious. Then we can use the third conditional. So if you are aiming for an eight or nine, it's a very nice strategy. to finish off with the third conditional, we're imagining something, which was in the past. But actually, didn't happen in the past, but we are imagining. So if I had used my phone, let's imagine that I did have my phone on me. If I had used my phone, I would have been taken out from the test. Okay, because people would have noticed

and would have carried me out of the room. Because you are not allowed to use anything like smartphones. Actually, there is no paper IELTS anymore. Maybe in some test centers there still is, DeLisner, but now, the IOTS people decided to keep only computer delivered test. So you're using a computer, not even a pen or a pencil. a computer. But no phones.

That's the rules. Sweet. Thank you very much for listening. And we'll get back to your next time. In our part three. Bye. Boo. Describe an occasion when you were not allowed to use your mobile phone.

You should say when it was, where it was, why you were not allowed to use your super mobile. phone and how you felt about it. Well, this doesn't happen very often since my phone is basically surgically attached to my hand at this point, but one time that does stand out is actually when I had my IELTS exam. It was for listening and reading and writing, not speaking. With regards to when it was, well, this must have been about nine months ago, roughly. I'd gone through to Edinburgh at the start of the summer for the big day, not only because I like the city, but also because it was the closest I Hilt Centre as well. So I had to travel quite far. When it comes to

where it was, I know I already said Edinburgh, but to be more exact, this was almost squarely in the centre of the city where these old Edwardian townhouses are located. It's actually quite a nice part of the place, regardless of why you're there. I had to go into one of these converted apartments and hand over all my personal items before taking the test, and that included my mobile phone. To explain why I wasn't allowed to use it, well, I think that should be clear. This is a high-stakes assessment, and having a phone would either allow you to cheat or perhaps worse be a distraction to others, and nobody really wants that, do they? So it makes sense that that would be a policy that they have in these test centres. And as for how I felt about the whole thing,

I wasn't actually that put out about it. I don't really take issue with rules like that, and I think I'd prepared well enough for the test that I didn't feel a really strong need to cheat or anything. Not that I would do that anyway, but it's good to not be able to do that. Even if I'd had my phone, I think I'd have put it on silent mode anyway,

just to avoid disturbing others, because that's the polite thing to do. Hopefully I won't have to do it again, though. I think one time was enough and even though I survived the tests I prefer to have my phone on me at all times.